Marina uses plant music to teach children about wild plants
“I recently completed a project in a primary school in county Galway, Ireland, where I came in about once a week to teach a class of 27 six-year-old children about wild plants and trees. Each one of my visits lasted about three hours, during which the children got to know a particular wild plant, through storytelling, drawing and other activities. The teacher of the class has a lovely way of working with children, and was very open and supportive of these workshops, it was a blessing to work with her. As part of my workshops I often brought in the Music of the Plants machine. It was wonderful to see how listening to a plant sing helped the children connect with the plant.
“One of my workshops was about Dandelion. I told the children about the plant, read them a story about Dandelion, we went outside and met many young Dandelions, and made wishes as we blew on Dandelion “clocks”. All the while, the Dandelion that I brought in with me in a pot was connected to the Music of the Plants machine, but was singing very little, and then stopped. This Dandelion grew from a seed that I had collected last April during a visit to Damanhur with my herbal medicine teacher, Carole Guyett.
“As we sat in a circle around the plant, I explained to the children how plants breathe in the air that we breathe out, and how they make the oxygen for us to breathe, and how this is a continuous exchange between us and the plants, including Dandelion. We then did some breathing with Dandelion, breathing in what he was sending us, while sending him good wishes with every out breath. As the children breathed with Dandelion in this manner, the plant started singing… and continued singing beautifully.
“The children decided they could talk to Dandelion, by asking him questions and then interpreting his answers that he sang through the machine. It was a beautiful session of questions and answers. The girls wanted to feed Dandelion by giving him water. And at the end of the workshop, many children thanked Dandelion for his beautiful music, and some came up and kissed his leaves. It was beautiful to witness.”
Marina L. Levitina
For more information about the Music of the Plants in Ireland, contact or visit Derrynagittah.
